Hood Tales, Volume 1

by C. N. Phillips

  “I love you too, Justin!”

  He flicked on her nightlight on the way out of the room and turned off the overhead light. He made to shut the door behind him. He took one last peek at her. She’d turned over on her side and was mumbling something to herself with her eyes closed. Listening closely, he was able to make out the words she was saying, and he smiled.

  “Six, four, eight, two. Six, four, eight, two.”

  “Six, four, eight, two!” Robin said out loud when she came back to reality. “That’s it!”

  She started to put the combination in, but behind her, she didn’t know that Amos had gotten the best of Arrik. While he had Arrik on the ground, he’d jumped to his feet and kicked him hard in the jaw. The blow stunned Arrik just long enough for Amos to grab the knife and make a beeline for where Robin sat. She didn’t even see him coming with the weapon until it was too late. He swung the knife one good time and sliced her deeply from just under her nose in a diagonal motion to right under her left eye.

  “Ahhh!” she screamed as she felt the sharp cold of the knife.

  Arrik struggled to sit up, fighting through the throbbing in his head. He blinked his eyes a few times, and his blurry vision cleared just in time to see Amos cut Robin’s face. She fell back, clutching her face, and Amos positioned himself over her and prepared to bring the knife down on her chest. Arrik had no choice; there was no way he would reach them in time.

  He pulled out his Glock 19 pistol and aimed for Amos’s heart.

  “Die,” he said before firing the gun once.

  The bullet ignited the air around it, and it looked like a ball of fire was making its way toward him. The force of the bullet connecting with its target knocked Amos back and away from Robin. His body instantly went up in flames, and so did the ground around him when he hit it.

  The fire in the house started instantly, and they had seconds before it blew up entirely. The fire spread and separated Arrik from Robin to the point where she couldn’t even see him anymore. She was hot, burning up actually, and there was no air for her to breathe. Still, she’d made a promise to her brother. The safe was still in her reach, and she inched as close to it as she could.

  Six, four, eight . . . two!

  On the last number, she heard the click, and the door flew open. With the last of her strength, she lifted her head to look inside the safe. There, in fact, were diamonds inside, but there was something else there, too. It was something worth more than the $3 million in diamonds, and she now understood why it was so important to Justin to get the safe back. She reached in, grabbed it, and after staring at it for a second, placed it tightly to her heart. She sobbed, and her tears mixed in with the blood pouring from her face. She was at peace, and she was ready for the hot flames and smoke to consume her.

  The universe seemed to have other plans for her.

  A set of strong arms swooped her up from the ground, and for a second she still felt scorching hotness, but then it was over. Although the pain from the fire was over, the smoke had taken a toll on her lungs, and she couldn’t breathe. Before she was consumed by utter and complete darkness, she looked up into the most honest eyes she’d ever seen in her life. She smiled, letting out her last breath.

  Epilogue

  He never liked the sound of heart monitors, especially after almost losing his daughter when she was first born, but there Arrik sat, listening to one beep away. He didn’t know why he was at the hospital besides the fact that his heart had tugged him there every day for the past five days. She still hadn’t opened her eyes, but the steady beeping of the monitor let him know that she was at least still alive. She lay there like Sleeping Beauty, but she was better than that. She was Robin Hood.

  After the fire, he managed to get her out of there unscathed by the flames. However, he wondered how she would feel once the bandage was removed from her face. The only things that he could see were her closed eyes and her slightly moist full lips. The doctors were able to stitch her up where Amos had cut her, but they told Arrik that she would need facial reconstruction surgery to remove the scar from her face.

  Amos had manipulated them all in a greedy haste that ultimately turned out to be his downfall. Arrik’s chest tightened thinking about the person he’d lost in it all. He was still a boss, but now he was a lone wolf. The hardest thing he’d ever done in his life was telling Roley’s family that he would not be coming home. The amount of money he bestowed upon them was nice, but it would never compensate for the absence of the man of the house. His life would not be the same without Roley, but he knew that somewhere his dog was at peace. He just hoped that when Robin opened her eyes, she would be at peace too.

  “Mmmm!”

  From visiting her hospital room for hours five days straight, he was familiar with what that groan meant. Her pain medication was wearing off. His heart tugged, because although she was still unconscious, somewhere inside of her, she still felt discomfort. Instead of calling the nurse, he did what he’d seen her do a hundred times. He might have been a street pharmacist, but in another life, he might have made a fine doctor. He applied the correct dosage of medicine to her IV and listened as her moans returned to quiet breaths.

  “You should have called a nurse to do that.”

  Arrik’s eyes shifted to the door in time to see Justin Hood coming through the door. Arrik wanted to say that he was shocked, but he knew that men like Justin didn’t stay down for too long. His leg was in a full cast, which required for him to be in a wheelchair, and his face was still in bad shape, but his presence still gave the same vibe. The room was silent as the two men stared each other down: two alpha males, both overprotective of the same girl.

  “They would have taken too long to come,” Arrik finally said. “You would have done the same thing.”

  Justin didn’t have a rebuttal for that, but he still didn’t relax his gaze. “Why have you been coming here every day?” he asked.

  Arrik was caught by surprise with that question, and it showed on his face. He didn’t know how Justin could have known he was there, especially since Arrik didn’t even know that he was up and moving around. “If it’s a problem, and you knew I was coming, why would you let me?”

  “I let you come and see my sister because it’s not a problem.”

  Growing tired of the “who is the real tough guy” act, Arrik slumped back down in the chair beside her bed. His eyes fell upon her chest and watched it go up and down.

  “I know it was you who saved her,” Justin told him, rolling into the room and out of the doorway. “For that, you deserve to see her.”

  “I couldn’t leave her there,” Arrik told him. “My heart wouldn’t let me. I had the chance to get out of there, but I had to go back for her. There is something about her. Robin Hood.”

  “You’re telling me like I haven’t been around her whole life.”

  “The diamonds—”

  “They’re gone, I know.” Justin shook his head.

  “Yeah, but when I found her curled up, she was holding this to her chest. Something that must have been worth more than diamonds.”

  He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a piece of paper. Only it wasn’t just a piece of paper. It was a photograph, and when it was handed to him, Justin smiled sadly. He handled the picture as if it were a diamond. In his long fingers, he was holding the only photo left of his parents. It was their Christmas photo, the last one they took while he was at home.

  He had just turned eighteen, and Robin was thirteen. They stood behind their parents in the living room in front of the tree. Robin’s arms were thrown around their father’s broad shoulders, while Justin had a hand firmly pressed on his mother’s frail one. At that time, his mother rocked a short haircut with a taper in the back. Everyone joked by telling her she looked like the new and improved Halle Berry and they didn’t understand how their father had snagged her. Their father just looked like a plump version of Justin. He often teased his dad about being the reason why he would nev
er pick up a beer. Their smiles said it all: they loved each other, and Justin couldn’t have been more grateful for his sister than he was at that moment. She had saved their legacy, and that alone was more valuable to him than any diamonds.

  “Thanks, bro,” Justin said, shaking Arrik’s hand; but he turned his head quickly after.

  “It’s cool,” Arrik said, and then he added in all seriousness, “Even thugs cry. I ain’t gon’ judge you. After all that we’ve been through, I might shed a couple of tears, my nigga.”

  They shared a laugh together, and once it died down, Arrik cleared his throat.

  “The doctors said she is stable enough to be moved. I hate hospitals, and I can get the finest doctors to see to both of you in my home. When she wakes up, there is something special I want to do for her. With your blessing, of course.”

  Justin’s eyebrow raised in curiosity. “I’m listening.”

  * * *

  Robin stirred in her sleep before her eyes flickered open. She remembered waking up one other time before that, but she was too weak to stay awake. The first time she woke up, she was still in the hospital bed, but this time, she was in a bedroom. She didn’t panic, although she didn’t know where she was. She let her eyes regain their focus, and when they did, she let them stroke every crevice of the room.

  It was huge, and she saw an IV pushed to the far corner. She was glad that whoever had removed it did so while she was sleeping. As tough as she was, she hated everything about needles. The ceilings in the room were high, and there was a crystal chandelier hanging from it. The décor in the room was royal, magical even, and the drapes on the window were pulled back just enough so the light from the setting sun could make the bedroom look even more radiant. The canopy bed she was in had sheer white drapes that were open, and it was so big that it had to be bigger than a California king.

  The entire vibe around her was right. She even smelled the sweet aroma of food being cooked somewhere, but something was off. Her face felt heavy, and she didn’t understand why. Slowly, she brought her hands up as the memories flooded her mind. Flashbacks of the fire came to her, Arrik fighting Amos, and finally the knife.

  “My face,” she said with tears coming to her eyes. Her hands delicately touched her bandaged face with shaky fingers. “My face.”

  “Is still beautiful.”

  The voice came from the far corner, and Robin whipped her head in the direction of it. She would recognize that voice if she heard it underwater, and she prepared to see Justin’s face before he rolled up to her bed in a wheelchair.

  “Brother, your leg,” she said, seeing the cast. “It—”

  “Will heal,” Justin told her. “Just like the cut on your face.”

  “How bad is it?”

  “They stitched it up nicely, but there will still be a scar.”

  “Oh.” Robin swallowed the lump in the back of her throat and nodded her head.

  “I would say that I would get you some reconstructive surgery if you want it,” Justin told her with a hint of a smile in his eyes, “but with the safe house going up in flames and the diamonds gone, I’m broke!”

  “Broke?” Robin’s eyes widened, realizing that what he said was true. “We’re broke? Justin, what are we going to do?”

  “Don’t worry about that. Just know we will be okay.”

  “How, nigga? You’re in a wheelchair! What are you going to do, rob a playground of kids? They’re still liable to kick your crippled ass and rob you instead!”

  Justin had to hold his stomach from laughing so hard. He had to admit, he missed her, and he was glad that she was finally awake.

  “I think I’m out of the armed robbery game for a while,” he told her with a mischievous smile. “What do you think about stepping foot into the drug game?”

  “The drug game?”

  “Yeah. The money will still be dirty, but it will be a constant flow of it. While you were down, I met with two women who do the same shit we do, Rhonnie and Ahli, and get this: they’re sisters. We feel as if we can learn a few things from each other, but I said only if you’re up to it.”

  “Of course I’m up to it, stupid. We’re broke!”

  “Perfect. I guess it’s a go with the Last Kings.”

  “The . . . the Last Kings?” Robin’s eyes turned into saucers underneath the bandages. “How did you . . . When did you . . .” She let her voice trail off.

  “Who do you think plugs your man’s operation here?”

  “My man?” Robin asked and then raised her eyebrows. “Where are we?”

  “How about you get dressed and come downstairs to find out?”

  He didn’t wait for her to answer him to roll away from the bed. He pointed to the end of it, where a beautiful golden dress lay. She was confused, and it wasn’t until she looked back at Justin that Robin noticed that he was wearing a tuxedo. She gave him a curious glance, but he put his hands in the air and rolled out of the room to give her some privacy.

  “I’ll be outside the door when you’re ready.”

  She couldn’t help but feel like she was getting set up. With some difficulty, she sat up and stepped out of the bed in her nightgown. She had to hold on to the high mattress until her legs stopped tingling. They hadn’t been used in so long that she was surprised they still worked.

  After a few minutes, she tried to take a step. When that went well, she took another, and then another, until she reached the end of the bed. She could tell just by looking at the dress that it was a perfect fit, and it was. When she put it on, it hugged her in all the right places and hung all the way to the ground. While she was admiring how long the train of the dress was, she saw the shoes that were supposed to go with it, and she smiled. The Fenty slides were the same color gold as the dress, and they were comfortable on her feet.

  “Who painted my toes?” she asked out loud, seeing that her feet must have undergone a pedicure. The white polish was bright, and her toes were flawless.

  The final steps were doing her hair and finally unwrapping her face. At the vanity, she pulled her long hair up into a neat, tight bun, and she brushed her baby hair into curled waves around her edges. Once she was satisfied with her hairstyle, she took a deep breath and stared at her reflection in the mirror. A part of her was scared to take off the bandage covering her entire face. But it was something that needed to be done. Slowly, she began to unravel the bandage until it was all the way gone. She counted to three in her head before looking up at herself in the mirror.

  She stared in silence for a while, getting used to what she now looked like. She still looked like herself, just with a discrepancy. Her fingers traced the thick scar that Amos had created, and she smiled sadly. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes, and she shook her head, refusing them access to her face.

  “You are Robin Hood,” she said in a weak voice; so she tried again. That time her tone was firm and strong. “You are Robin Hood, and you have magical powers. Nothing can hurt you.” She nodded her head and said again in a whisper, “Nothing.”

  She remembered the words of someone, and when she stood up, she held her head high. When she exited the room, Justin was right outside of it, just like he had said he would be. When he saw her, the smile that was already on his face broadened.

  “You look . . .”

  “Damaged?”

  “Perfect,” Justin said. “Absolutely perfect.”

  He grabbed her by the hand with one of his and used his other to roll them down the long hallway toward the foyer of the house. In the distance, she heard people laughing and music playing. The closer they got to the end of the hallway, the louder the noise got. When they stepped out of the hallway and into the foyer, she was blown away. She knew where they were, but the last time she was there, things looked different.

  To the right of the foyer, past the spiral staircase, was the ginormous dining room. Well, it had been the dining room. The tall double doors were open, revealing that all of the furniture had been removed so it could
be turned into a dance floor. There was a big crowd of people and even a DJ playing music. Everyone looked like they were having a good time, and Robin let go of Justin’s hand and made her way to the entrance.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, playing with her fingers. “What is this?”

  “Didn’t I say,” a voice boomed at the top of the staircase, “that you would be the most beautiful girl at your prom?”

  Arrik stood at the top of the stairs wearing the flyest gold suit Robin had ever seen, with a gold crown on his neat Cherokee braids. He was giving Eddie Murphy in Coming to America a run for his most prized dollar.

  Dangling in his hand at his side was a thin golden tiara. It almost slipped from his fingers when he first saw her round the corner. He took in her appearance and felt his heart skip a beat. He watched her watch him stroll down the winding staircase until he was directly in front of her.

  She opened her mouth to stammer something, but he quieted her by lifting her chin and meeting her lips with his own. They kissed each other with a deep, longing passion, like two broken halves of a heart connecting at last. When their lips unlocked, Arrik rested his forehead on hers and looked down into her eyes.

  “You did all of this for me? But why, Arrik? My face . . .” she murmured up at him. “I’m not the same.”

  “You aren’t,” Arrik said. “You’re even more beautiful to me.”

  “How?”

  “Some things are left for the stars to explain,” he said, using her words. “Your face might not look the same, ma, but you are the same to me. Plus, I might have a thing for chicks with war scars.”

  She giggled through the tears in her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in it. Behind them, Justin cleared his throat, reminding them that he was still there. Arrik pretended to stand up straighter.

  “Damn, you got me feeling like a corny nigga with all these butterflies and shit, prom queen,” he said, placing the tiara on her head.